![]() Also, the youngest infants were carried longest, “with a sharp decline when they reached approximately half the weaning age.” The researchers also found that younger primate mothers were more likely to carry dead infants and that deaths from illness were more likely to result in corpse-carrying than deaths from infanticide or accident. But is not the same thing as understanding that death is inevitable and irrevocable. Grief is quite common among intelligent animals. That doesn’t mean she isn’t grieving, of course. So she probably goes on doing that until she is tired and just gives up. Lemurs, who do not carry dead infants around, expressed grief “through other behaviours, such as returning to the corpse or giving ‘mother-infant contact calls.’”ĭoes the lemur, for that matter, understand that the infant is dead? She doesn’t know anything she can do other than try to arouse her offspring. The researchers note that great apes and Old World monkeys were more likely to carry dead infants around and to do so for longer periods. Overall, 80% of primate species in the literature survey study carried dead offspring around. But understanding death means processing abstractions like “never” and “forever.” The behavior described demonstrates grief without demonstrating awareness of death, as humans understand it. People who care for primates should keep their emotional needs in mind. Some primate mothers may also need the same time to deal with their loss, showing how strong and important maternal bonds are for primates, and mammals more generally.” University College London, “ Primate mothers may carry infants after death as a way of grieving, study finds” at ScienceDaily (September 14, 2021) ![]() It’s known that human mothers who experience a stillbirth and are able to hold their baby are less likely to experience severe depression, as they have an opportunity to express their bond. “Our study also has implications for what we know about how grief is processed among non-human primates. The University College researchers and colleagues add, In these examples, it implies the opposite. Such faithfulness is inspiring but it is not evidence that the life form understands what death is. The story is touching in part because Hachikō’s could not know that his human friend had actually died. For many years after his master had died, he went down to the train station every evening to await his return. The primates’ behavior definitely demonstrates grief in the sense of attachment but also makes clear that they don’t understand what death means.Īn iconic example of this dilemma is the faithful Japanese dog Hachikō. That is why human mothers do not carry a dead baby around for months. The point about death - as a human understands it - is that the deceased loved one is never coming back. Humans understand death as an abstraction that comprises a number of separate facts, including that it is not merely a “long-lasting ‘cessation of function.’” That would be coma or paralysis. University College London, “ Primate mothers may carry infants after death as a way of grieving, study finds” at ScienceDaily (September 14, 2021) What we don’t know, and maybe will never know, is whether primates can understand that death is universal, that all animals - including themselves - will die. Study co-author Dr Alecia Carter (UCL Anthropology) said: “Our study indicates that primates may be able to learn about death in similar ways to humans: it might take experience to understand that death results in a long-lasting “cessation of function”, which is one of the concepts of death that humans have. While there is debate among scientists around whether primates are aware of death, this new study suggests that primate mothers may possess an awareness - or be able to learn about death over time. ![]() In the largest study of its kind, researchers undertook the most extensive and rigorous quantitative analysis to date of a behaviour known as “infant corpse carrying” in primate mothers, looking at 409 cases across 50 species. Published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers compiled data from anecdotes reported in 126 publications on primate behaviour. Researchers looked into the habit some primate moms have of carrying a baby who has died, sometimes for months: That is a trickier question than it first seems. Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flipboard Print Email
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